Polish Air Force Commander to Fly KF-21... Holds Bilateral Talks with Air Force Chief of Staff

Lee Youngsu Meets with Polish Air Force Commander
to Discuss Defense Cooperation and Personnel Exchange

The commander of the Polish Air Force is visiting South Korea and will take flight aboard a KF-21 prototype aircraft.

According to the Air Force on June 24, the Polish Air Force delegation, including Major General Ireneusz Mikolaj Nowak, Commander of the Polish Air Force, arrived in South Korea the previous day.

On this day, Commander Nowak held a bilateral meeting with Air Force Chief of Staff Lee Youngsu at the Air Force Headquarters in Gyeryongdae. Attending the meeting from the Korean Air Force were Deputy Chief of Staff Park Giwan (Lieutenant General), Director of Planning and Management Lee Taegyu (Major General), and Director of Policy Koo Sangmo (Major General). From the Polish Air Force, Brigadier General Piotr Iwaszko, Commander of the 1st Tactical Air Wing, and Colonel Adam Kalinowski, Commander of the 23rd Tactical Air Base, were present.

General Lee and Commander Nowak shared the progress of cooperation between the two air forces and pledged to further strengthen collaboration in defense and the defense industry between the two countries. General Lee stated, "Through this meeting, we were able to further enhance defense cooperation between our air forces by sharing operational know-how of the FA-50 fighter jet and discussing ways to promote personnel exchanges," and added, "I hope the Polish Air Force delegation will experience the excellence of Korean aircraft by boarding the TA-50 lead-in fighter trainer and the KF-21 prototype."

Previously, the Polish Air Force signed a contract with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in 2022 to acquire 48 FA-50 fighter jets. By last year, they had introduced and were operating 12 FA-50GF units, and plan to sequentially introduce 36 FA-50PL units thereafter.

On June 25, Commander Nowak plans to visit the 1st Fighter Wing (Gwangju) to encourage Polish Air Force pilots currently undergoing T-50 flight training. On June 26, he will visit the Air Force Education and Training Command (Jinju) to meet with Commander Son Seokrak (Lieutenant General), where he will be introduced to the Korean Air Force's education and training system and discuss exchange and cooperation measures between the two air forces.

In particular, on June 26, Commander Nowak will visit KAI, where he is scheduled to board the KF-21 prototype with a KAI test pilot to experience the performance of the KF-21 firsthand.

Meanwhile, the Polish Air Force delegation is scheduled to depart South Korea on June 28 after completing their visit. During his stay, Commander Nowak also plans to meet with Defense Acquisition Program Administration Commissioner Suk Jonggun and KAI President Kang Guyoung to discuss follow-up measures regarding the FA-50 acquisition and ways to further enhance defense industry cooperation.